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008 – And So It Begins

Finally reaching Chapter 1 of the Quenta Silmarillion, we behold an Arda too perfect to last, offer a brief geography lesson, and shamelessly poke fun at as many Valar as possible before stopping to admire the beauty of the Two Trees of Valinor. Also, we almost answer a question about death.

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2 thoughts on “008 – And So It Begins”

I have just found your podcast, and am listening to the back episodes. There was a short discussion about the colors of the lamps – blue and yellow. You commented that the overlap would be a lovely green. This is inaccurate. Blue plus yellow pigment makes green. Blue plus yellow light makes white light. Google for more information if you want to get into the additive and subtractive properties of color. I don’t know if Tolkien knew this, but it actually makes more sense.

You’ve got me there, Juli! I recall that I suggested the light would be green. To his credit, Alan (a photographer by trade) said it would be white, but I was talking over him a bit and I ended up having the last word. So that mistake’s on me. I agree that it makes much more sense that the two lamps in this perfect Arda would produce mingled white light.

I don’t know if Tolkien knew this either, but I followed your advice and Googled the topic, and it seems that the theory behind our understanding of additive color has been around since the mid-19th century. And since Tolkien dabbled in theatre as a schoolboy, maybe he had some practical experience of stage lighting? It certainly seems possible that he would have known. Thank you for the information!